Student jailed for three weeks awaiting trial over Facebook posts

A Boston-area teenager remains in custody on $1 million bond nearly one month after being arrested over what he said on the Internet.

Eighteen-year-old Cameron B. D’Ambrosio of Methuen,
Massachusetts was arrested on May 1 after police were alerted to
“disturbing verbiage” on his personal Facebook page discovered by a
fellow student at Methuen High School. D’Ambrosio allegedly posted
original rap lyrics that prompted authorities to charge him with
terrorism, and now he faces a potential 20 years in prison.

“He posted a threat in the form of rap where he mentioned the
White House, the Boston Marathon bombing and said, ‘everybody you
will see what I am going to do, kill people,” Methuen Police
Chief Joe Solomon told the Valley Patriot earlier this month.

Three weeks after being surprised by police at his Methuen home,
D’Ambrosio remains locked up.

“A kid is in prison. Away from his family. All for something
he posted on Facebook” reads a support page for the high school
student established this week by the Center for Rights and Fight
for the Future. In 48 hours, the website received more than 500,000
views, and on Thursday the administrators said 1.2 million people
had visited the page by the time D’Ambrosio went before a judge
that morning for a scheduled bail hearing. The justice differed
deciding at this time if D’Ambrosio should be released from
custody.

“Cam's attorney made arguments that he should be released to
his family and that all evidence (including testimony from the
police) suggested that he was not a threat to anyone. He also noted
that Cam was two weeks away from graduation, and Methuen High
School had decided to grant him a diploma,” Fight for the
Future wrote early Thursday. “We expect a decision within a few
days and sincerely hope that Cam will be home safe with is family
soon.”

Meanwhile, though, D’Ambrosio remains locked up if and until a
judge decides he isn’t a hazard to the community.

At the time of his arrest, school officials and law enforcement
alike applauded the speedy response and celebrate D’Ambrosio’s
arrest as a victory against terrorism only a few days — and a few
miles — from where two brothers allegedly detonated explosives at
the Boston Marathon, killing three in the biggest act of terror in
years on American soil. But nearly one month after being
detained, authorities have not announced any proof that D’Ambrosio
intended to act out the lyrics he left on his Facebook page.

“A search of Cam's house found no explosives, weapons, or ANY
evidence that he was planning anything other than becoming the next
Eminem,” his supporters write.

Among the Facebook content that alerted authorities was a song
that was considered a warning of things to come.

“So when u see me (expletive) go insane and make the news,
the paper, and the (expletive) federal house of horror known as the
white house, Don’t (expletive) cry or be worried because all YOU
people (expletive) caused this (expletive),” reads a redacted
version of one post made available to the Boston Herald.

Fox News quoted another song, in which the amateur rapper wrote
"(expletive) the Boston bombing, wait til you see what I do. I'm
going to be famous."

On his support page, it’s noted that a key word was dropped from
the line when it was reported by Fox. In actuality, D’Ambrosio
wrote, “I’ma be famous rapping.”

“Suddenly something that sounds like a threat of violence is
clearly just bragging about how good Cammy Dee is going to be in
the rap game. Last we checked, teenage dreams of grandeur were not
a crime,” the website claims.